Grantmissy wrote:Two Tuskers in Kruger were named after the Letaba River, Letaba One and Letaba Two, - the Letaba River showed its strength during January 2013. It is said that Letaba One was very fond of the Letaba Restcamp and visited the camp often but I am not sure whether he caused a commotion or not during such visits.

Origin of Name: This bull was named after the Letaba River in the Northern Section of the Kruger National Park, where he was regularly seen.

Range: Letaba Restcamp and surrounding areas.

Special Features: His left tusk was long and curved, however his right tusk was broken off fairly close to the lip line. He also had a large rounded patch of smooth skin on his trunk.

General: This bull was first recorded in 1979 and was already an old elephant at that stage. He was a docile bull, who was known for repeatedly invading the Letaba Restcamp. Sadly this bull was poached in the 1980’s when poaching from Mozambique was at its worst. This docile creature was shot and killed alongside the Engelhard Dam close to the Restcamp and had, had his tusks removed.

Letaba Two (date unknown)

Origin of Name: This bull was also named after the Letaba River in the Northern Section of the Kruger National Park, where he was regularly seen.

Range: Letaba Restcamp and surrounding areas.

Special Features: Perfectly matched tusks, of approximately 52kg each.

General: This bull was also first recorded in 1979 however he was a much younger bull then his counterpart at the time Letaba One. He was immobilized in 1982 and fitted with a radio collar to track his movements. Unfortunately the collar became defective for no reason and it was decided not to replace it. The bull was not seen again.

In September 2004 an 8 minute video called “Battle at Kruger’ was shot at Transport Dam. This Kruger battle was about an unfolding confrontation between a herd of buffalo, a pride of lions and one or two crocodiles. This video went viral on Youtube and became a hit with approx. 66 million views and 79 000 comments. This battle happened in Kruger 9 years ago this month.

“Whether it's the best of times or the worst of times, it's the only time we've got.”

“The tremendous increase in grass covers during the summer of 1970/ favoured the hunting activities of predators. To restore balance, the Park ceased the culling of wildebeest (1972) and zebra (1974) and re-introduced carnivore control in December 1974 in selected areas. From 1974 to 1980 a total of 456 lion and 364 spotted hyenas were killed”.

According to the Census results in 1973 there were 7 965 elephants in Kruger.

“Whether it's the best of times or the worst of times, it's the only time we've got.”